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PAYING THE LAND by Joe Sacco Kirkus Star

PAYING THE LAND

by Joe Sacco ; illustrated by Joe Sacco

Pub Date: July 7th, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62779-903-4
Publisher: Metropolitan/Henry Holt

An epic graphic study of an Indigenous people trying to survive between tradition and so-called progress.

Eisner Award winner Sacco’s Palestine (2001) and Footnotes in Gaza (2009) are classics of contemporary graphic journalism. This is his first book since the stunning The Great War: July 1, 1916 (2013), and it’s well worth the wait. The author and illustrator spent six weeks reporting with the Dene people, a native society with deep roots in the Mackenzie River Valley in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Partly oral history and partly a compassionate portrait, the narrative recounts the people’s transition from a culture that respected and lived off the land to one faced with challenges that threaten to erase the fundamentals of their culture. Sacco portrays the Dene’s old ways with his extraordinary illustrations, vividly showing how they once lived. The title comes from citizen Frederick Andrew’s memories from his youth. “You give it something,” he says. “A bullet, perhaps, water, tobacco or tea. It’s like visiting someone. You bring the land a gift.” Many readers will be distressed by the many indignities that modern society has visited upon the Dene people. The recent phenomenon of fracking creates division between those who see economic opportunities and those who believe the practice is a defilement of their land. Sacco also portrays in stark relief the pervasiveness of problems stemming from substance abuse. Another theme involves the arrival of the first airplane, the signal that Canada intended to remove Dene children to residential schools that “were essentially used as a weapon for assimilation and acculturation and Christianization.” The children also suffered horrific abuse from both teachers and other students. Part of what makes Sacco’s portrayal so masterful is his proficiency as a journalist; he uses the real words of Dene citizens to tell their stories, augmenting them with his extraordinary artistic insight.

A startling depiction of an Indigenous people struggling to remain true to their traditions. Yet another triumph for Sacco.